Walied Soliman, KC
Global Chair, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Related services and key industries
Biography
Walied Soliman is the Canadian chair of Norton Rose Fulbright and co-chair of the Special Situations team. He is widely regarded as one of Canada's leading lawyers in his field, having been involved in some of the most significant and complex M&A transactions and proxy battles in the country, advising buyers and sellers, boards, hostile bidders and shareholder activists. In addition, his practice focuses on restructurings, corporate finance, governance and structured products.
Mr. Soliman was mandated in 2020 by the government of Ontario to chair the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce. In 2019, Mr. Soliman was chosen by the United Nations Association in Canada to be its Global Citizen Laureate for his professional merit and service to the community. He was the only lawyer featured in The Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine Power 50 list in 2017, was designated as a "Star Lawyer" by Acritas for ranking in the top 28 lawyers globally, and he has been continuously recognized by the most prestigious legal rankings over the years, including Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. Mr. Soliman sits on the boards of Ryerson University and the BlackNorth Initiative against anti-Black racism, and he is the chair of the Board of the Toronto SickKids Hospital Foundation.
Professional experience
Collapse allLL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, 2001
- Ontario 2002
Mr. Soliman has recently acted as counsel to the following clients:
Special Situations
• Aimia Inc. in relation to its contested 2023 and 2024 AGMs, a hostile insider bid and private placement by Mithaq Capital SPC, the closing of a strategic private placement (resulting in the leading case law on contested private placements in Canada), and its termination of agreements with Paladin Private Equity, LLC, related to various rights and obligations in favour of Paladin in Aimia’s subsidiaries, Bozzetto Group and Cortland International, that had been acquired by Aimia for C$496 million
• Canadian National Railway Company in its defence opposite TCI Fund Management Limited, resulting in a resolution agreement that included the withdrawal of the requisition for a special meeting of shareholders and support for management’s nominee directors
• Citadel Income Fund in respect of the requisition by Saba Capital Management, LP to replace the trustee and manager of Citadel and approve the subsequent termination and wind-up of the issuer, leading to a negotiated settlement and the withdrawal of the requisition.
• Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. in relation to an unsolicited take-over bid by Suncor Energy Inc., which resulted in an increased offer representing a total value of approximately C$6.6 billion
• The special committee of the board of directors of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. in respect of management’s unsolicited C$1.1 billion take-over bid
• Mundoro Capital Inc. in its successful defence opposite Northern Minerals Investment Corp in a shareholder dispute, which established the “Advance Notice Policy” in Canada
Corporate, M&A and Securities
• The board of directors of Agrium Inc. in connection with Agrium’s US$36 billion merger of equals transaction with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.
• The special committee of the board of directors of Yamana Gold Inc. in relation to a US$4.8 billion cash-and-shares offer by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Pan American Silver Corp.
• Parmalat Canada and its parent Lactalis Group on the C$1.62 billion acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s Canadian natural cheese division
• Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. in connection with several public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, including in connection with its filing of a short form base shelf prospectus and registration statement to offer common shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, units and subscription receipts in Canada and the US for gross proceeds of up to C$250 million
- Best Lawyers in Canada: Corporate Law, 2022-2025; Mining Law, 2013-2023; Natural Resources Law, 2014-2025
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2012-2024: recommended in Corporate Finance & Securities; 2020-2024: recommended in Corporate Commercial Law, Corporate Mid-Market; 2014-2017: recommended in Investment Funds & Asset Management; 2016-2024: recommended in Mergers & Acquisitions; 2014-2019: recommended in Mining
- Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, 2022-2024
- Legal 500 Canada: Corporate and M&A (Leading Partners), 2019-2025
- Chambers Global, Canada: Corporate/M&A, Chambers and Partners, 2018-2024
- Chambers Canada, Ontario: Corporate/Commercial, Chambers and Partners, 2017-2025
- International Financial Law Review 1000, Canada: Mergers and Acquisitions, 2019-2023
- Acritas Stars 2019-2021 – Designated as an "Independently rated lawyer"
- Only lawyer recognized in the Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine Power 50 list for 2017
- Acritas Stars, 2017: Designated as a “Star” lawyer by ranking in the top 28 globally (over 5,000 lawyers) by a panel of over 3,000 senior in-house counsel
- Named as one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine in 2014
- Ranked as one of the Top 40 lawyers under 40 in Canada by Lexpert magazine in 2009
• “The Importance of Staying Competitive in the Business World,” Firing On All Syllables Podcast (Alexa Translations), September 2024.
• “Complex M&A, shareholder activism and corporate governance: Key developments in 2023 and a look ahead,” Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP webinar, February 2024.
• “In focus: Canadian capital markets trends,” Fidelity Connects, August 2023.
• “Shareholder Activism in Canada,” Deloitte, June 2023.
• “The Future of Canada’s Capital Markets: Where do we go from here?” Campbell Strategies In Conversation, May 2021.
• “The Future of the Canadian Legal Industry,” Deloitte, May 2021.
• “Capital Markets Modernization in Ontario: The Future is Bright,” C.D. Howe Institute, April 2021.
• Keynote presentation, OSC Dialogue 2020, November 2020.
• CIRI Annual Investor Relations Conference, November 2020, June 2019, & June 2013.
• “Capital Markets Corporate Governance in the Cannabis Sector,” Canaccord Cannabis 100 CEO Summit, Half Moon Bay, CA, USA, June 2019.
• “Hot Topics in M&A,” Center for Business Law at the UBC Allard School of Law, Vancouver, BC, February 2019.
• Canadian Bar Association
• Law Society of Ontario
• Chair of the board, SickKids Foundation
• Board member, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Board member, BlackNorth Initiative
• Member, board of trustees, The Bishop Strachan School
• Advisory board member, Shift Canada